Revealed: Alex Salmond's plan for covering up tax increase

Alex Salmond personally oversaw plans to cover up proposed tax increases until
they were ‘buried’ in an avalanche of bad news, according to a slew of
newly-published documents showing he even changed the wording of a press
release.

Alex Salmond released details of his local income tax the same day Rupert Murdoch was summonsed to appear before a Commons investigation into phone hacking

Scottish Executive sources told the Daily Telegraph civil servants advised him before last May’s Holyrood elections to drop a two-year legal fight preventing this newspaper seeing details of the SNP’s local income tax plans.

However, the new documents show that the day before the election he ordered an appeal in Scotland’s highest civil court to proceed.

SNP ministers then performed an about-turn in June last year, the month after being returned to office in a landslide victory, and accepted their officials’ advice to drop the case.

But they did not actually withdraw their action in the Court of Session for another month, when it coincided with the height of the furore over the News of the World phone hacking scandal.

The 88-page dossier reveals for the first time the full extent to which dozens of officials and ministers colluded to drag out their doomed legal fight, which eventually cost taxpayers £103,000.

Their efforts were frustrated during the election campaign when this newspaper obtained leaked information showing a local income tax would cost families 50 per cent more than they had claimed.

When they finally dropped the case last July, Mr Salmond personally “tweaked” a press release, which incorrectly stated that all the information requested by this newspaper was already in the public domain.

It was issued as the Commons Culture, Media and Sport committee ordered Rupert Murdoch and his son, James, to testify before them about phone hacking scandal.

Willie Rennie, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader, said: “These revelations show us that Alex Salmond and his top guard were swarming all over this issue. They were determined to hide the truth from the people of Scotland.”

Paul Martin, Scottish Labour’s business manager, said: “The idea that a Scottish First Minister is reduced to writing press releases to save his own hide is truly demeaning.

“This was a truly grubby affair and the fact that he had to rely on his pal Rupert Murdoch to give him a good day to bury bad news makes this all the tackier.”

John Lamont, Scottish Tory Chief Whip, said: “Alex Salmond has once again been caught red handed trying to bury the SNP’s totally misguided plans for a local income tax.”

The Daily Telegraph requested details of the local income tax in 2009, and the Information Commissioner ordered the documents be handed over in February last year after Mr Salmond dropped his first legal action.

The following month civil servants advised the commissioner’s decision could only be appealed on a point of law. Although their advice is redacted, sources told the Daily Telegraph ministers were advised the appeal was unlikely to succeed.

An email dated March 23 and marked urgent was sent to John Swinney, the Finance Minister, Mr Salmond, Mr Crawford, then the Parliamentary Business Minister, and Sir Peter Housden, the Scottish Executive’s Permanent Secretary.

It confirmed a second action on in Court of Session had been lodged, in line with ministers’ instructions.

Over the next fortnight the Daily Telegraph revealed the full details of the First Minister’s legal battle then the leaked details of the real cost to families of the local income tax.

However, on May 3 Mr Swinney and Mr Crawford confirmed they wanted to continue the appeal and Mr Salmond followed suit on May 4, the day before the Holyrood election.

This appears to undermine his later claim that the Daily Telegraph leak prompted him to drop the legal action.

After the election, civil servants advised ministers on June 13 they should abandon the appeal and this time they agreed. Mr Salmond’s spin doctors were asked to consider the media “handling plan” for this.

They decided not to drop the action until the following month when officials warned the First Minister a date was due to be set for a court appearance.

The go-ahead came from Mr Swinney’s office after he and the First Minister “agreed to withdraw from legal action in this case.” A memo insisted the pair were not “conceding the principle” that the information should be kept secret.

On July 14, as the Murdochs came under scrutiny, the case was dropped and a press release issued after Mr Salmond made a “very slight tweak” to the wording.

The Scottish Executive last night said officials did not advise ministers to drop the appeal until June 2011 and there are no changes to local taxation planned in this parliament.

A spokesman said the appeal was pursued “legitimately” and ministers continue to argue they need “private space to encourage free and frank discussion.”